UEC Competition Guide

• Application Opens: Monday, Sept. 10, 2026
• Online Information Sessions: Oct. 1, 2026, 11-11:45 a.m..; Nov. 5, 2026, 11-11:45 a.m.; Jan. 14, 2027; 11-11:45 a.m.; Feb. 4, 2027, 11-11:45 a.m.; March 4, 2027, , 11-11:45 a.m.
• Application Deadline: Feb. 16, 2027
• Online Judging (University of Utah): Feb. 22-26, 2027
• Top 20 Announced: March 1, 2027
• Top 20 Orientation: TBD
• Top 20 Video Submission Deadline: March 5, 2027
• Public Top 20 Video Voting: March 8-19, 2027
• Competition Final Event: March 20, 2027

Because the Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge is a collegiate student competition, the student must take the lead in the submission and must play a major role in formulating the business. The challenge is a student business competition and is based on the work of students. The challenge does not award ventures that are not formed and managed by students.

Competing teams must be composed of at least one Utah college or university student and meet all of the following criteria*:

• The team must be organized and directed by a student from a college or university in the state of Utah.
• The founding student must be an active student during both semesters of the competition year.
• The founding student must be registered for a minimum of nine (9) credit hours during the semester they are participating. The credit hours must be taken as a matriculated, admitted, and degree-seeking student.
• The student team members must be involved in all aspects of the challenge competition.
• The team must not have been a top-8 finalist in past challenge competitions from previous years. (This eligibility requirement refers exclusively to the challenge and does not include any other events hosted by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute.)
• There are no restrictions regarding other team members; however, we suggest building a balanced team with a strong combination of finance, marketing, engineering and technology skills.
• For existing companies:
  • If the company has been registered in any state longer than 24 months as of Sept. 1 in the year the competition year begins, a brief history of the company is required in the application.
  • The cumulative revenue, debt, grant or third-party financing for the company has not exceeded $100,000 prior to Sept. 1 in the year the competition begins.
  • The company cannot be a franchise.

An individual team may provide more than one entry; however, each business model must be registered separately.

NOTE: Rules and exceptions are up to the discretion of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge representatives. Submission content must be appropriate for the student, judge, sponsor, and volunteer audience. Inappropriate content will result in disqualification. Direct any questions about eligibility to the Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge team at [email protected].

Round 1: Business Model

Round 1 is open to all participants that meet eligibility requirements. To compete, teams must register online and submit their business model PDF at lassonde.utah.edu/uec by the submission deadline (see timeline for date). Be prepared to list the team’s primary contact name, phone number, email address, school and student ID number, as well as the names of other team members. There is no registration fee.

Deadlines are strictly enforced. We do, however, understand there can be technical issues associated with submitting through the competition software. If you have any issues with your submission, contact us at [email protected]. The top 20 teams will be invited to participate in rounds 2 and 3 of the Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge and will receive a cash participation prize for completing rounds 2 and 3.

Business Model Guidelines & Requirements

The business model is a brief document that outlines the fundamental problem and solutions your business is addressing. The purpose of the document is to convince the reader that the business is viable and could operate in the real world. It includes the most interesting and important aspects of the business.

The business model should be no longer than 6 pages (not including the cover sheet). The document must have 1-inch margins and a 12-point font size. All pages, except the cover page, should be numbered. Unusually condensed or narrow type is not permitted. Failure to meet these guidelines may lead to disqualification.

Business Model

The business model should briefly describe:

• Company overview: Include the most important points about your business idea — your history, product or service, mission statement and legal structure if applicable.
• Product or service: Describe product or service for sale, stage of development, market differentiation and intellectual property if applicable.
• Market: Describe the market where you aim to sell your product or service. Include target market, competitors in the market and an analysis of your competitive advantage.
• Sales strategy: Explain how you will go about selling your product or service while increasing profits. Include marketing strategy, distribution channels, key partners and relationships.
• Revenue model: Describe how your business generates revenue. Include the cost to produce, cost to sell, customer acquisition strategy and market price for the product or service.
• Team: Describe who is currently on your team, their role, education and experience. Detail current and future personal needs.

The business model will be submitted on the competition website, lassonde.utah.edu/uec. To be eligible for the competition, a PDF version of the business model must be submitted online by deadline (see timeline for date).

Participating Universities

• Brigham Young University
• Ensign College
• Neumont College of Computer Science
• Utah Tech University
• Salt Lake Community College
• Snow College
• Southern Utah University
• University of Utah
• Utah State University
• Utah Valley University
• Weber State University
• Western Governors University
• Westminster College

Round 2: Video Submission (Top 20 Only)

The top 20 finalists must create a 2-minute video based on their business model. The video MP4 file must be submitted via email to [email protected] and uploaded to a provided location by the deadline (see timeline for date). Video submission instructions will be provided. Failure to provide these materials may lead to disqualification for several prizes.

Video Submission Guidelines & Requirements

Videos will give an opportunity to set you and your idea apart. The 2-minute videos should be persuasive and help judges understand your idea and explain your business model. Besides the time constraint, there are no set criteria for your video. Teams should decide what ideas they feel are most applicable for judges to know.

You could use your video to:

• Give a personal “elevator pitch” for your idea
• Show your extreme passion for your idea
• Let your creativity, your personality, and/or the “personality” of your idea shine through
• Clearly demonstrate and explain the product or service

Follow these simple guidelines when creating your video:

• Videos MUST be no longer than 2 minutes in length. Videos longer than 2 minutes may not be judged.
• Keep it professional. No inappropriate sounds, language or images. Videos containing content deemed inappropriate by the challenge will result in disqualification

Public Voting on Videos and Cash Award

Videos for the top 20 finalists will be posted on the Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge website and open to public voting (see timeline for dates). The video with the most votes will be presented with the People’s Choice Award. Follow the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute on social media for updates on the public voting.

Round 3: Final Presentation (Top 20 Only)

Each of the top 20 teams will be invited to the final challenge event (see timeline for date and times). Here teams will present to judges and receive awards. Final judging will take place during the final event. The winner of the grand prize and winners of other prizes will be announced during the evening of the final event.

Final Presentation Guidelines & Requirements

Teams will be asked to give a presentation and answer questions from a panel of judges regarding their presentation and business model. Business formal dress is suggested.

The final presentation will take place at the Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge Final Event (see timeline for date and times).

Presentations should have impact and be brief. Most teams will not be able to present all of the aspects of their business during the allotted time. The presentation should reinforce and augment the business model submitted by the team in Round 1. Teams using a presentation document will be required to submit all of their presentation files by the deadline (see timeline for date).

*IMPORTANT NOTE: The ONLY presentation file type allowed is PDF. Please convert all other file types to PDF.

Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge Final Event

The Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge final event will be held in person at the University of Utah. Contestants will participate in judging sessions and compete for the awards announced by the end of the day. This is an invitation-only event.

The judging panel may consist of venture capitalists, lawyers, bankers, accountants, entrepreneurs and other successful and knowledgeable business leaders. Judges will not be affiliated with, or involved in, the preparation or funding of any participating team. The decision of the judging panel will be final and will not be subject to appeal. The overall selection of winners is based on the viability and likely success of the business.

The first round of judging is determined independently at each college or university. Each college or university are given their applications to select their nominations for rounds 2 and 3 of judging.

• Round 1 results will be announced on challenge website and via email (see timeline for date).
• Round 2 and 3 results will be announced at the challenge final event and posted on the event website.

The Judging Criteria

The judges for Round 2 and 3 will look at the following criteria:

• Is the company student-driven?
• Was the presentation impactful?
• Does the idea show innovation and creativity?
• Has the team adequately explained the main points of the business model?:
• Company overview
• Product or service
• Market
• Sales strategy
• Revenue model
• Team

Cash and in-kind prizes will be awarded amongst the contestants. Funds received from the Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge should be used for to advance the business idea.

A variety of other cash and in-kind prizes — including accounting, legal, and consulting, staffing and information technology services — will be awarded to selected teams for additional preparation of their business plans and initial business development. These services are distributed solely at the discretion of and are subject to the conditions set forth by the donor, and may be subject to change from year-to-year.

Prizes exceeding $5,000 must be awarded to a legally formed company, not an individual.

Awards Eligibility & Payment Process

Review the Lassonde Awards webpage for detailed information about award eligibility and the payment process. All awards have eligibility requirements and terms are subject to change.

As a competitor, you are responsible to protect any information concerning your business that you share with advisors, team members and fellow participants of the competition. The Lassonde Institute takes no responsibility for unwanted disclosure in these instances. Contestants should be careful about disclosing information concerning proprietary concepts. Competitors concerned about the protection of intellectual property may contact the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute Company Launch program (lassonde.utah.edu/launch) or the Hours with Experts program (lassonde.utah.edu/experthours) to connect with resources available.

General

Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge
c/o Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute
University of Utah
105 Fort Douglas Blvd., Bldg. #604
Salt Lake City, UT 84113

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 801-587-3836

Lassonde Staff

• Scott Holley, Executive Director, [email protected]
• Anne Bastien, Program Director, [email protected]

Student Leadership

• Adia McCown Ponegalek, UEC Chair, [email protected]
• Aysha Salami, UEC Vice Chair, [email protected]